This book is a very light, fun read. I love the diverse cast of characters and the decisions they made on their journey. My only issue was the writing style. I didn't feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked, but overall I did enjoy it.

While I think this was an interesting concept and an important take on a YA book (wallflowers and late-bloomers are everywhere and no one wants to admit they are one lol), it did not connect with me personally. I am not sure if it was the writing or the characters, but I couldn't connect with this one like I wanted.

-- This review is several years past the release date due to the many issues of 2020, but a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of the book.

"Quindlen (Her Name in the Sky) deftly conveys both the awkwardness of outgrowing an old life without having a clue how to move toward a new one. —Publishers Weekly

Description reminded me of that recent movie, was it Booksmart? But this was much less annoying and actually interesting as it developed.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I loved the vulnerability of the characters and the touches of Atlanta that made it feel really authentic and real. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

This book made me feel a lot of things. At times, it was difficult and at times it was joyful, but it was always worthwhile. I was never a proper Teenager either.

I think that for the right person, this book could be life changing. For me, it was a difficult read because I've got some grief to work through - I still need to grieve the teenager I wasn't able to be due to factors outside of my control.

Thank you to NetGalley, Roaring Brook Press, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I could not get into this one. The characters were immature, and I felt like there was no need to have all three of the main characters queer.

Codi has two best friends, Maritza and JaKory. She's never needed anyone else... until the summer before senior year when she realizes that their friendship feels more confining than freeing. A new friendship with popular jock Ricky, whom she catches secretly and furtively macking with another guy, allows Codi to spread her wings... even allowing her to get a girlfriend. However, are these new friends worth dumping her tried and true besties?

As I listened to the audiobook of Late to the Party, I projected myself hard into Codi. I, too, wasn't interested in partying or being "popular" in high school. I, too, was shy and timid, especially around new people and in new situations (still am!). I, too, wasn't interested in dating. So, I thought, well, maybe Codi is autistic. That theory gets shot down. Maybe Codi is asexual. That theory gets shot down. I really wanted this to be the story that high school me really needed for a mirror text. Alas, it was not. But Codi went the exact opposite direction of what I did: she joined with the popular kids, started partying, and started dating. Can she really be "late to the party" if she's only 17 when she "arrives"??

LGBTQIA+ diverse:
- Codi is a lesbian.
- JaKory is gay.
- Maritza is bi.
- Ricky is gay.
- Various other characters are a variety of/unspecified alphabet mafia members.

I really enjoyed this! Codi is a rising senior, and she is afraid that she still isn’t a “real teenager.” She has had the same two best friends for forever, and Codi doesn’t really know who is without them. When she meets Ricky, he introduces her to his friends - and the girl of her dreams.

I thought this was a super real, super honest book about being a teenager. I’m a fan of this for sure!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was an excellent teen read about friendship, life as a teen, and learning about who you really are. This will be a great addition to our teen collection

I have never read anything by this author but since I love middle grade /YA I thought I would give this a try and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm fairly new to middle grade and YA and I'm loving it. I'm sure there were books like these when I was a teen (too many years ago to count) but I certainly wasn't reading them. I don't think my mother would have let me read them had there been any.

This book takes a look at what life is like for gay/lesbian teens without sexual identity being the only focus of the book. I thought each teen was portrayed really well along with the struggles of identity, relationships, finding/keeping/losing friends and all the typical teen struggles along with sexual identity, which most people don't have to contend with.

I loved Codi and her tenacity as she learns about herself and those around her. I think all the characters were portrayed realistically with problems that most everyone has gone through in their own teen years. I loved the growth that most of the characters had and was rooting for a happy ending for all.

I really enjoyed this book and will read other books by this author in this genre'.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a cute, honest romp about the struggles of feeling like a part of something while being a teenager. I loved how unabashedly open the main character, Codi, and her two main best friends were with each other about their identities. Codi is tired of being seen as the quiet, artistic person and decides to secretly hang out with a new group of friends in order to try a new version of herself. Codi meets Lydia and is instantly smitten but unsure how to proceed with starting a relationship. This book has a lot of great instances of love and support as well as realistic portrayals of friendship and first love. Bonus points that it's set in my home state. Super cute!

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

I liked this book! I enjoyed watching Codi become her own person and have adventures. I was crushed when her friends found out she had been lying. When she fought with her brother I thought of my own brother and how complicated it is to relate to a younger sibling. The timing of events felt rushed and slow all at once-I understand it was supposed to be one summer but was wishing for more of a snapshot of the relationships at the end! It was a very pleasant read and made me wish I was camping with friends right now enjoying summer!

Late to the Party is a great story about queer teens. It follows the story of Longtime introvert Codi as she tries new things like partying and going on dates.

I really enjoyed the book for the most part and it kept me very interested. My only complaints are that the book seemed to glorify cigarettes, having the popular kids smoking them. Additionally, the author made it out to be a bad thing that Codi wasn’t huge into parties. At one point the author says that people should be ashamed to be her friend because she’s never had her first kiss or gotten black out drunk.

3.5/5

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was enjoyable. it was a quick read perfect for the summer. I found the representation to be the best part. Almost all of the main characters are either POC or LGBT+, and not shoehorned for the sake of progress. Their identities mattered and yet were not the only focus.

this book is about relationships; about growing apart from ones friends, about crushes, about family, about finding new friends. The dialogue was realistic for most teenagers, and the prose was simple and readable. it just didn’t blow me away. i thought the pacing at the end was rushed and the conclusion came too easily. that being said, i liked reading it.

Late to the Party is a difficult book for me to rate, I related with the main character so much that all my teenage insecurities came flooding back and I'm not sure if that impacted my overall enjoyment of this novel. However there were also scenes that just annoyed me so sadly this book wouldn't have been a five star read insecurities or not.
But first let me rave about the things I loved, we've got a very shy, insecure teen girl who's never been to a party before, every year she stays firmly within her comfort zone and never tries new things or goes anywhere she's not familiar with. This Summer she meets a guy who includes her amongst his friends and suddenly she's exploring the world outside of her usual bubble, which includes a potential romance! The slow burn sapphic romance was beautiful, it was written at just the right pace and the right amount of hesitation and optimism, I loved it. Almost the entire cast in this novel are queer, which we love to see but sadly the repeated friendship drama with the main characters original friendship trio was so frustrating to read about again and again. I felt no empathy towards these friends at all and would happily have not read anymore about them, it didn't add to the plot in anyway by repeating arguments. High school or any friendships can be messy but as a reader I couldn't engage with some of the characters in this novel which was a huge shame.
Overall I felt disappointed by this novel, I enjoyed majority of the book as I read it but it's not a book I'd be that fussed on revisiting.

Wow, this took me back. It really transported me back to how painfully uncomfortable it was to be a teenager, and how messy teenage friendships can be, and I almost felt like this book described my life at that age 1:1.

It was such an intensely relatable experience to grow with and without your friends and to not know who your people are and where you belong, and who you even are in the first place.

I loved how much this focused on friendship over romance, even though I did love the romance as well.

This took me a little longer to get into than I thought it would and I think it’s because I was really annoyed by the way Maritza & JaKory treated Codi at the beginning so I didn’t get super into it until Codi met Ricky and the story really took off. Overall, I loved this book and I didn’t want to put it down once I got to about chapter 6!

Codi was a great narrator because of how relatable she is. She was so relatable at times that I really had to think about myself. I loved getting to see Codi through all of the different friendships she had, especially with Lydia, Ricky, & her brother Grant! Everything just wrapped up so well and made me feel so hopeful!

Definitely 5 stars, would read again! ☺️